'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams'

The weather's pretty crazy in my part of the country.

It's not even Winter yet, and it's cold enough to _________.  I'll let you fill in the blank.

I haven't been running through books as I usually do at this time of year; that's what illness will do to you.  But the books I do manage to finish are quite interesting.  Especially this one. 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', by Stephen King, is a collection of twenty short stories. There are a few that I really wish had been longer, but I feel lucky that I had a chance to even read them.  Some are bazaar (see what I did there?  Did ya?), some are straight fiction 
(and very dazzling, if I might add).  And some of them make you think.

Some of these stories have never been published, and some of which Stephen has revised. He introduces each one with the story of it's origin, or the reason he wrote it. Very enlightening info from a man who doesn't shy away from sharing.

King's 20 short stories have connections: Themes of morality, the afterlife, guilt, what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past.

'Afterlife' is about a man who died of colon cancer and keeps reliving the same life. Other stories address what happens when someone discovers that he has supernatural powers--the columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries in 'Obits', or the old judge who, as a boy, canoes to a small island and sees names written in the sand, the names of people who then die in freak accidents.  

Some of the stories are scary in another way:  They tell of real life and the real horror hidden within the nicest person.

Author 'Little Stevie' King

The story that really stayed with me was 'Ur', and when you read it, you'll know why.  

King's stories tend to become instant classics the minute the ink hits the paper.  He's done a great job with this new collection.  The stories have kept me up all night, and it wasn't because I was scared.

It's the writing.  The writing pulls me in and doesn't let me go.

When it starts pulling me under the bed, I'll send for help.




'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams', published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is available at your local library and favorite bookstore.  ISBN 9781501111679

'Beastly Bones'

I'm sorry it's been so long, faithful readers, but I've been taking a hiatus.  A health hiatus. Reading is still one of the best ways I spend my days, but I've had to stand back and think about my future.

And I've determined that this blog is part of it, especially if my dream of owning a book shop comes to fruition.  I'm still working on that.  And if it does happen, I'll most likely stock a lot of Young Adult novels.

Speaking of Young Adult novels, I was overjoyed to find the second book in the 'Jackaby' series by William Ritter while I was roaming around the library not too long ago. I grabbed it, checked it out, and ran, eager to throw myself upon the couch and dig into Ritter's newest story, 'Beastly Bones'.

And I really liked it.  It wasn't as unusual as the first book, but it was entertaining, nonetheless.

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R. F. Jackaby, are called upon to investigate the latest supernatural incident.  First, members of a particularly vicious species of shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens.  A day later, their owner is found dead, with a single mysterious puncture wound to her neck. Then, in nearby Gad's Valley, dinosaur bones from a recent dig go missing, and an unidentifiable beast attacks animals and people, leaving mangled bodies behind. Policeman Charlie Cane, recently exiled to the valley, calls on Jackaby and Abigail for help, and soon all three are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

Ritter has maintained the same type of humor that was so well-displayed in his first book. But what truly delighted me was learning more about the 'house ghost', Jenny.  She and Abigail have become close friends, and the fact that she loans clothes to Abigail seemed rather strange, yet endearing.

Author William Ritter

The story's pace never lets up, even when there's an incident broiling between two of the antagonists.  I especially love the story's 'Sherlock Holmes' vibe.

But the tentative move toward a romance shared by Abigail and Charlie has taken a few steps. Small steps, I grant you, but at least it's moving forward.  

'Beastly Bones' is a quick read, but I was totally satisfied and am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

'Beastly Bones', the second 'Jackaby' book by William Ritter, is now available at your local library or favorite bookstore.  

ISBN 9781616203542

'A Head Full of Ghosts'

Autumn is now upon us, and for avid readers, it's truly the season of cuddling up on a couch/chair/bed, pulling up a cozy blanket, and sipping from a hot beverage while a few cats sleep on your legs/stomach/head.  But if you're reading a good story, you forget about the cats while your hot beverage grows cold, especially during the Halloween season.

But while I found 'A Head Full of Ghosts', written by Paul Tremblay, intriguing, it just wasn't what I thought it would be; I noticed the cats, and my tea was still hot.

It's been garnering good reviews, and although I don't always listen to critics, I do love a good ghost story.  But this time, I expected something a bit 'spookier'.

Perhaps I didn't 'get' it.  Maybe I should read it again.  But I know I'll feel the same way about the story.  It's well-written, the characters are fully realized, and it was very dark.  It did have strange moments that are hard to explain, but it seemed like a garden variety story of possession. It brought to mind a lesser version of 'The Exorcist'.

The Barretts, a family living in New England, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.  The doctors are unable to stop the teenager's bizarre outbursts and descent into madness.

Author Paul Tremblay

As their home devolves into a house of horror, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help.  He suggests an exorcism, and then contacts a production company which is eager to turn the family's plight into a reality series.  The family agrees, and they never imagined that The Possession would become an instant hit.

I do have to say that a great 'reveal' near the end was the story's saving grace. It was then that I felt the pull of it's supernatural content.


Too bad it didn't arrive sooner.




'A Head Full of Ghosts', published by Wm. Morrow (a division of HarperCollins), is available at your local library and favorite independent bookstore.  ISBN 9780062363237

'Lair of Dreams'

It's not easy finding a sequel that is just as good as the first novel.

When I find one, I get very excited to read it.  "Will this keep me reading until the early morning hours?".  If it's good, I take it to work, or I read it in the bath tub.  I'll even forget about Facebook and Twitter.  Who needs social media when you have a solid story waiting to bewitch you?

And especially now.  Halloween isn't far away, and it's time to start reading spooky-scary stories.  One of my current reads is a new collection of Shirley Jackson's stories (but not all of them are spooky-scary.  Some are very ironic, though, which is scary in itself).

But the book I just finished reading is the second novel in Libba Bray's 'The Diviners' series. 

'Lair of Dreams' doesn't entirely concentrate on Evie O'Neill, the protagonist from the first novel.  She's there, alright, but the story slowly showcases two characters, one being new to the group (and I hope to read more about her in the next book).

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O'Neill has outed herself as a Diviner.  With her uncanny ability to read people's secrets, she becomes the star of a radio show and soon earns the title, 'America's Sweetheart Seer'.  As a publicity stunt, she and her friend, Sam, pretend they are romantically involved, which brings both tremendous favor with the public.  But a darkness soon descends, and Evie is pulled in, despite the fact that she prefers to go to various parties and drink until morning.  

Pianist Henry DuBois and Chinatown resident, Ling Chan are two Diviners trying to keep their powers a secret; they can walk in dreams.  And the dream they are both pulled into is but the surface covering of a dark evil that is threatening to take innocent souls hostage via the city-wide 'Sleeping Sickness'.  Henry searches for a lost love, and Ling strives to succeed in a world that shuns her, but once they are pulled into the dream, they find a friendship that can only make them stronger.

Author Libba Bray

Although this book took me a bit longer to read, I still spent two days happily submerged in a story that is set on the cusp of the 1930's. The characters from the first book appear, and I'm glad that Bray didn't abandon them.  I learned more about their backgrounds, I loved watching some of them take charge of their responsibilities (while some tried to run away from them), and I was intrigued by the romantic relationships that bounced back and forth. But, most of all, I loved the mysticism, the eeriness of the whole series.  It was so atmospheric and a great 'pre-Halloween' read.

But a great surprise was the way Bray managed to insert Gemma Doyle (heroine of Bray's 'Gemma Doyle' trilogy) into the story. Just a short appearance, but enough to make me wonder if she'll be included in the third book.

Make it so, Ms. Bray.  Make it so.


'Lair of Dreams' by Libba Bray, and published by Little, Brown and Co., is available in hardcover at your local library and favorite independent bookstore.  ISBN 9780316126045

'Finders Keepers'

Little Stevie Kings gets me every time.  

Just when I think he's touched on the distinctive human experience, minus the horrors, he proves that life is nothing but horror.  Everything we go through is nothing but horror; worrying about our children getting home before curfew, not getting called to the principal's office when our kids have done wrong.  The dreaded call from the police when our children have decided to end the constant suffering.

Yeah, it affects me every time.  And I love him for it.  I get in touch with myself, with my daughter.  His current series intrigues me with its compassion and humanity.  I love you, Little Stevie King.  I hope to speak with you some day. Apart from the public, the conventions, the signings.  I'd love to speak with you in a coffee shop; cups in hand, Tabitha sitting back, listening to our exchanges.  You're a real guy.

So, as a sequel (somewhat) to his marvelous 'Mr. Mercedes', I find a great settling of the 'chills' from his previous novel.  But I still don't trust it.  I know there's something dark and thrilling waiting for me.

"Wake up, genius!" Stephen King has written a riveting story about a vengeful reader.  The genius  is John Rothstein, who created a famously beloved character (think Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye'), Jimmy Gold, but who hadn't published a book in decades.  One of Rothstein's most faithful fans kills him because his non-conformist character, Gold, has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein, maybe for cash, but his real point is the treasure trove of notebooks that contain at least one more Gold novel.

But Morris hides the money and notebooks before he lands up in jail for a previous crime. Decades later, a young boy by the name of Pete Saubers, finds the money and the novels (and whose father is injured in the previous novel, 'Mr. Mercedes').  Pete discovers he is being rescued by the previous team of Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson from Morris, who is released after 35 years, and wants his money and his notebooks back.

King's follow-up to 'Mr. Mercedes' is all real, yet fictional, experience; the sweat and tears, the terror, the horror of finally facing up to the final altercation.

But they highlight the infamous Brady Hartsfield in slight little references.  But the reader knows that he will be the focus of the last book in this trilogy.  And that's where the horror comes in.  Fully-fleshed out.  Fully realized, as only King can do.

But 'Finders Keepers' is a rather mundane story.  Kid finds notebooks and money.  Criminal who found it and buried it decades ago.  Criminal is released from jail and begins a journey in order to get back the precious notebooks (he's not concerned about the money).  Kid who refuses to give it all back.  That's the power of this story.  Who deserves it.  Who would use it for their better selves.

King constantly astounds me.  What is good?  And what is bad?  But, most of all, I'm so glad he's provided a sense of the supernatural.  Because that is what makes him so significant, so 'branded'.  I love his horror novels; no one else can convey a special horror as well as Stephen King.

Author Stephen King

It is his sense of every day horror confronted in every day life that has terrified me for so long. His book, 'Gerald's Game' has left me with a strange sense of claustrophobia.  

His brilliance in creating real characters, people we'd see on an almost daily basis, is what always surprises me.  These are people who are 'real'. Breathing, consistent, actual human beings.

That is his genius.  He makes us care.  And you'll care a lot when you read the first two books in his 'Mr. Mercedes' trilogy.

But I'm scared to read that third book. That's how good Stephen King really is. He brings darkness into the sunniest day.



Stephen King's new novel, 'Finders Keepers', ISBN 978-1-50110-0007-9, is available at your local library and favorite independent bookstore.  But make sure you read 'Mr. Mercedes' first.  You'll thank me.  

'The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins'

Sometimes, I'm in the mood to read strange, wonderful, gritty stories.  Stories that surprise me.  Who, in the name of all that is crazy and holy, doesn't like surprises?

'The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins', by Irvine Welsh (he of 'Trainspotting' fame), is no exception.  

It's rough, it's sexy, it's full of characters who have personalities that turn on a dime.  When I was halfway through it, I thought, "Who needs a plot?"  Welsh is that good.  

When Lucy Brennan, a Miami Beach personal fitness trainer, disarms an apparently crazed gunman who was chasing two frightened homeless men along a deserted causeway at night, the police and the news media are not far behind.  Within hours, Lucy becomes a hero.  But her celebrity is short-lived:  The 'crazed gunman' turns out to be a victim of child sexual abuse and the two men are serial pedophiles.

The only witness, the depressed and overweight Lena Sorenson, is thrilled with Lucy's heroism, and becomes obsessed with her.  She enrolls as a client at Lucy's Body-sculpt gym.

But when the truth comes out about the pedophiles, Lucy's transition from hero to villain is complete.  Although Lucy tries to shake it off, her solution is to imprison Lena and make her lose weight.  When Lucy can't stop thinking about the sex lives of some famous Siamese twins who are in the news, the real problems start.

I found it amazing how well Welsh turned the tables.  You can feel the anger and sexual longing in Lucy, and her dedication to her health and fitness is somewhat alarming.  In Lena, we have an obese artist who, at first glance, seems happier just to stay on the sidelines and eat until her pain goes away. But when Welsh presents the backgrounds of these women on a silver tray, it makes the story even more interesting.  

Author Irvine Welsh

There are more characters, but to me, they were merely window dressing (although that doesn't diminish the author's skill at creating them).  But each one has a place, a set place.

It's all about the two women.  Their strengths and weaknesses.  Their needs and longings. The way they dance around each other, with twists and turns....and surprises.

I loved this book.  And despite its grittiness, you'll like it, too.  Actually, the grittiness gave this story the familiar mark of Irvine Welsh.  

And welcome to the good, ol' U.S.A., Mr. Welsh!





'The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins', published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, can be found at your local library, and your favorite independent bookstore.  ISBN 978-0-385-53938-8

'Scents and Sensibility'

I know.  You don't have to say it.

Book Hog's been out of circulation for a while.  Okay, okay.  Out of circulation for a long time. The job I held for three and a half years has finally come to a close, and I've been spending a lot of time looking for a new one.  You see, I managed the book section of a non-profit thrift shop, and it was one of the best jobs I've ever had.  Imagine going through boxes and boxes of treasure (well, not all treasure), determining their value, and sometimes finding first edition/first printing, SIGNED books.  Merchandising the section any way you wanted (of course, my boss had to approve all moves).  But I felt appreciated, and we sold quite a few books; I became known as 'The Book Lady'.  I remembered my lessons from the various bookstores in which I worked, and they served me well.  Man, I miss it!

Anyway, I've been searching for a new job, and when it gets discouraging, I read.  

When I received a packet of advance copies from one of my favorite publishers, I was so happy to spot a copy of Spencer Quinn's new one, 'Scents and Sensibility'.  I immediately grabbed it and read it s-l-o-w-l-y.  I hate to see any of the 'Chet and Bernie' books end too quickly, but it's hard to hold myself back sometimes.

I was also very happy to discover that Quinn has moved the action back to the desert, where Chet and Bernie run the Little Detective Agency.  And I was glad to learn more about the pup that looks suspiciously like Chet...

Private Investigator Bernie Little and his canine partner, Chet, return home from their last adventure only to encounter some alarming developments.  First off, Bernie's wall safe is missing, and with it, his grandfather's watch, his most valuable possession.  Meanwhile, old Mr. Parsons, the next door neighbor and owner of Chet's best friend, Iggy, is under investigation for being in possession of a saguaro cactus illegally transplanted from the desert.  Chet and Bernie go deep into the wild to investigate, but will they find that Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have a terrible secret in their past?

Chet and Bernie find worse things happening in the desert, far worse than cactus smuggling, and all connected to a strange desert festival called Cactus Man. Their search uncovers leads that take them back to a long-ago kidnapping, and a criminal who sees at once what Chet and Bernie mean to each other and knows how to exploit it.

Author Spencer Quinn, with Audrey and Pearl

In every C&B book, there is a moment in the story where you find yourself crying (especially if you love animals).  This one is no exception.  But this time, Chet has help from the unlikeliest source.  And learning more about Mr. and Mrs. Parsons and their beloved dog, Iggy, made the story richer. Once you commit yourself to it, you find yourself becoming addicted to a wonderful, funny, and heartwarming mystery series.

I can't get enough of Chet and Bernie.  Read the books.  Wipe away tears, and laugh yourself silly.

And I still think that Spencer Quinn is part dog.




'Scents and Sensibility' is now available at your library and favorite independent bookstore.